The effects of terrestrial ecosystems on the climate system: The Boreal Forest

This topic submitted by Jillian Lynch ( lynchjillian@hotmail.com ) on 3/2/00 .


Much research has gone into how climate affects vegetation type and density. Vegetation, however, not only responds to, but affects climate as well. This feedback occurs to an extent that is almost equal to the changes that orbital forcing may have on climate change. The effects include altering atmospheric chemistry and increasing temperature and precipitation. Of particular interest is the northern expansion of boreal forest into tundra. The biophysical land-atmosphere interactions of the boreal compared to the tundra can significantly warm climate. In other words, changes in the geographic location of the treeline are of great importance to climate change.

Most of the results have been found through climatic modeling. This creates a problem in the area of data collection. I'm not sure how to isolate the two variables I'm looking at, vegetation and temperature. To focus my topic I want to look at the changes of a particular region over time. What type of data should I look at? I'm kinda stuck.


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